Explosion injures three

As firefighters spray down the smolder remains, roof shingles hang from the branches of a tree near the lot where a gas explosion destroyed a building on E Main St in Lewisville Friday afternoon causing a 3-alarm fire, Friday, January 11, 2013, in Lewisville, TX.

One man was reported inside the duplex at 520 E. Main St. at
the time of the explosion, the chief added. The man was taken to Medical Center
of Lewisville, where he remains in the intensive care unit after successful
surgery, Freed said.

The man, whose age and identity had not been released late
Friday, was a resident in one side of the duplex and is reported to have
sustained severe internal injuries.

“Neighbors report there [was] one person living on each side
and the other person, a woman, was not at home at the time the explosion
occurred,” Freed said.

Two 20- to 25-year veterans with the Lewisville Fire
Department were also hospitalized at Medical Center of Lewisville.

One suffered lacerations on his arm and has since been
released, Freed said. The other is still hospitalized after suffering from
cardiac injuries.

Jennifer Ryan, Atmos Energy public information officer, said
the investigation is ongoing.

“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the
families affected at this time,” Ryan said.

As crews worked to turn off the 4-inch gas line, precautions
were made to evacuate everyone downwind, said Ryan and Freed during a news
conference.

“We believe that by doing this, many were saved from
possible injury,” Freed said.

Ron Batts, president of Christian Community Action Center,
said the destroyed duplex and several others surrounding it belong to the
center and are used as temporary housing for low-income individuals.

“My initial thought wasn’t anything to do with the housing,
it had to do with the people inside,” Batts said. “Our prayers are with the
families now, and we are already taking the proper, necessary measures to make
sure there is a place to stay for anyone who was displaced resulting from all
this.”

Vladimir Golets, who lives about two blocks away, heard the
explosion and thought it was his cat crashing into something before realizing
the sound led to things much worse.

“I was on the phone with a friend and had to get off
immediately. I knew something major had just happened and I didn’t know what,”
Golets said. “As soon as I found out it wasn’t my cat or two dogs, I was
thinking it was someone crashing into the townhome. It was then I went outside
and saw plumes of smoke and neighbors running down the street.”

Many area agencies, including those from Flower Mound,
Highland Village, Carrollton and The Colony, were on scene to assist as needed.

Officials had the gas turned off by 4 p.m. Friday afternoon
and were preparing to go through the debris to make sure no one was left
behind.

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